My only Uncle: William Harold Tucker, went to war in 1942 after graduating from John Marshall High School in Hollywood.  He kept a daily diary throughout High School and for two years after up until his enlistment in the U.S. Navy.  Upon enlisting he wrote home every day; one to eight page letters describing his training and experiences in flying.  For a year and a half he went through training, graduating from Corpus Christy TX and receiving his commission to fly a Lockheed Hudson and be stationed out of Ft. Lauderdale FL.  As a solo pilot in command of this medium bomber his job was to take up to eight service personnel from various branches of the military, up in his plane. They would spot shipping off the coast, and let them practice with the new invention of radar.

Wednesday afternoon Feb. 3, 1944 at 2:15 pm, while flying seven miles off the coast of Miami, at an altitude of 3500 feet the plane lost an engine.  With the nine men on board and the heavy radar equipment the plane was overloaded by approximately 2600 lbs. It went into a flat spin. 

Many of the servicemen on board had never flown before this flight.

My Uncle, being a top notch pilot was able to pull the plane out of the spin and according to witnesses leveled off at an altitude of ten feet above the water. 

In the Lockheed Hudson the only door is in the rear of the plane.  Investigators surmise the personnel on board panicked and rushed for the door making the plane tail heavy, causing the ship to hit the water tail first, and it sunk like a stone, into seven hundred feet of water.

The search went on for two days, and no debris, or bodies were ever recovered.

William Harold Tucker was two months away from his 21^st birthday.  He was one of 138 kids lost during WWII from John Marshall High School, a school which lost more students in the war than any High School in Southern California.

In 1987, forty three years after the accident, I traveled to New York and Boston with my teacher from Art Center, Dan McCaw.  While visiting, I went to the Atlantic Memorial in Battery Park and searched for Bill’s name. It was not there.  I contacted the right individuals in the Government;  sent them all the info I had on Bill Tucker, and after a period of four years I was contacted Battlefields Commission saying his name had been listed on the memorial (along with the 11,500+ Americans who lost their lives in the coastal waters of the Atlantic in WWII.

While visiting the Eleanor Ettinger Gallery in Soho, where I would eventually have my first Solo Show in New York, I found the name of my Uncle inscribed in the Memorial.  Now things feel complete!

I sketched the model at the Santa Barbara Train Station around 10 pm.

Being it was winter time in a public place, the model preferred to pose "draped".

"Still Waiting"
24"x18"
Charcoal/paper
1999
Collection of the Artist

He has taken a collection of my paintings; (38, out of the 86 he owns), and has decorated the inside of the saloon with them, and assorted pantings by his father, and Santa Barbara Artist Shawn Kirkpatrick.  The Nocturne Wall, of moonlit scenes, remains above the fray and frolicking customers  who are enjoying their libations below.

Most of the paintings depict images I painted on our Surreal Bounce over the last 13 years. Every painting tells a story about our quest; our search into creativity and madness.

Feedback from the clientele is that they love having artwork on the walls...

In my opinion, it sure beats plastic Budweiser pennants.

Photo: Robert Eringer

We stopped up on Jack Ass Hill to view Mark Twain's Cabin, where in 1865 he wrote his very first novel, "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".  Feeling the empty cabin with three chairs wasn't much to shake a stick at, we traveled on down the road tothe town of Angels Camp to find the tavern where it is said Twain heard the story while sipping liquor at the bar.

The Tavern, inside Angels Hotel is now an Antique store full of glimmering novelties.  I asked the owner if he knew where the bar was once situated way back in the day? He then pointed to some display cases over yonder. I walked over to the cases imagining them to be an old western bar where I could order a shot of Basil Hayden, (Bourbon Whisky).

Then, looking down into the case, I knew there must be something there for me to remember this moment by. There, sitting on top of a small box was this well-worn antique clicker, in none other than the shape of a frog! I knew I had to have it as a keep sake from this journey.  So, in my search to capture a glimpse into the spirit of Mark Twain, and in the continued tradition of a Surreal Bouncer,  I purchased this miniature clicking talisman that still works like a charm. 

Work in progress, with client, Jim Worthen. Photo: Rob Rafelli

Stained glass, Art Deco Design, Iwani Hotel 

Nature Abides

Eyes to the sky

I like to get a feel for a community, by seeing how they've organized the final resting place for those that have passed.  Mariposa Cemetery had many unmarked graves, graves dating back to the mid 19th century, and graves that beckoned to tell a story. This one had lots of eye candy.

There is an art to departure... 

Wandering around Mariposa in the early morning l came across this blooming wisteria. Since I am always in search of how light falls on the form I am also looking for patterns to help make my compositions more interesting.

Context is everything...

The fence pattern reminded me of an Iconic Image in American Photography I saw in 1998,that was taken in 1916 by artist Paul Strand.  I love to travel because it can remind me of places I've already explored.

I was pleased with the progress of the Gold Coin Nocturne. Of all the nocturne paintings I have painted in the last 20 years this one seemed to have all the color palette ingredients of Van Gogh's "The Night Cafe".So it was a good beginning, and that is always the bare minimum of what an artist can hope for.